As cell phones have become ubiquitous as a vital voice and data communications device in society, the wireless telecommunications industry has been steadily expanding the data services offered to cell phone customers, with picture and multimedia messaging being marketed quite heavily. In addition, handset equipment makers have been integrating increasingly capable computer-like features into a new breed of smart cell phones and Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs). Embedded cameras that support still images and video capture have become standard equipment on most cell phones. Yet despite the expanding multimedia services and plans available and the ubiquitous marketing campaigns that aim to increase interest and sales, most consumers either don't use or rarely use the photographic and video features in their phones. Many possible reasons exist for this apparent lack of consumer interest including, for example, ease of use issues, reduced image quality as compared to single purpose digital still and video cameras, difficulty viewing, difficulty in transmitting and sharing resultant images, and lack of a compelling application of the technology.
Presently, there are numerous web sites that offer consumers the ability to upload and store digital images and videos from their camera phones. However, a drawback of these web sites is that they are oriented toward the individual, are updated infrequently, and are not real-time in nature. That is, the collections of photos and videos all relate to material and subjects of interest taken from the perspective of a single author and the services are not optimized for real-time interaction, dynamic updating, rapid dissemination, and public viewing on a large scale. These web sites serve as digital equivalents of a traditional photo album or scrap book that is incrementally modified or enhanced over a significant period of time by a single contributing individual. They also tend to be less ad hoc in nature and contain considered poses or images of events where the photo album editor consciously decided beforehand that the event warranted preserving and intentionally took measures to ensure that a still or video camera was present.
Thus, there exists the need for a service that provides for a digital multimedia album comprised of photos, videos or any suitable digital content taken from the perspective of multiple authors, optimized for real-time interaction, dynamic updating, rapid dissemination, and public viewing on a large scale.